avoid the fiscal cliff. tax the rich no matter what. the number of the day from the daily caller, one trillion dollars a year. that's how much the federal government shells out for welfare programs. that is up by 1/3 during the obama years. you saw him on this program yesterday. today, wayne lapierre launch a new series of ads in swing states. he does not like the president's stand on guns. and women in binders? this is an issue? "varney & company" is about to begin. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing erest, scuba diving the great barrier reef wh sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, whih is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happen which isn't rocket science.

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>> thursday, october 18th, 19 days until the election, president obama warning once again, raise taxes on the rich or else. we're getting closer to the fiscal cliff every day, if no deal is reached by the end of the year, spend spending cuts and tax increases cut in automatically and the president

now says he will veto any effort to avoid that fiscal cliff unless it iicludes a tax increase on the big earners, he's doubling down on that fair share mantra. >> paying our fair share of tax, everybody paying their fair share. americans who can afford it should pay their fair share. it's time for congress to stand up for the middle class and make our tax system fairer. >> got to make sure that we've got a tax system at that reflects everybody doing their fair share. >> americans who can afford it should pay their fair share. >> i believe everybody should have a fair shot and pay their fair share. stuart: the last of the montaque is the president at the tuesday debate. the president not walking away from what some are calli-- >> and the reaction to the gallop. mitt romney with a 6 point lead

among likely voters, this is the biggest yet. and we can't get enough of this video, how much watched felix baumgartner, 12 million. what's that worth? according to the international business times that record jump pulled in almost 63 million dollars worth of sponsor values. not just for red bull, but for rydell communications and cypresigh sky driving devices, i'm going to call this one of the greatest publicity stunts of all time. another drop in gas prices, the national average for a gallon of regular, down 2 cents overnight. 3.73 is the number now, diesel at 4.13. and gas by the way is 7 cents lower than it was a week ago. look at the price of oil this morning, $90 a barrel and we're down on oil today. well, i have to tell you, it's another terrible report on unemployment, a big spike in unemployment jobless claims last

week, will president obama keep up with his jobs recovery talking points in light of this? we've got a former labor department official's take on the new numbers after the break and we'll have the opening belfour you next. all eyes, right here. this is our year. i thought it was last year... turns out i was wrong. none of us would walk in here and settle. that's how we are! i forgot what i was going to say. patrick, i want 100% commitment! because i care man, ok? who are we!? 49ers! 49ers! 49ers! yeah! [ all cheering ] what the heck is going on in here? sorry coach, i just got a little carried away. alright, i think we're good. [ morgan ] for a chance to be in a locker room on game day and more... join vi nfl fan offers and make your season epic. oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs.

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to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. >> now, there was one very important number released about

an hour ago that will be new jobless benefit claims. there was a spike up, 46,000 from last week. 388,000 is the new grand total. please remember, last week we got those dodgy numbers because one big state didn't fully report, apparently. so, we saw a very convenient drop in new benefits claims. that was exploited politically, and the president went out there, look, the economy is going in the right direction. what is he going to say now because we've got a spike up 46,000 and that may have some impact. certainly on the stock market this morning. we're expecting the dow to open, well, just a few points, well, not much, but the opening trend should be down for the s&p, the dow and for the nasdaq. here we go, we're off on the down side, but not much so far. now, we're going to hear from microsoft after the market closes today, and they report their profits. i of course own the stock, so, nicole, it's of vital importance, where did the stock open? go ahead, go. >> it's pretty much flat.

there are so many things circulating microsoft when you talk about microsoft. we're waiting for the earnings report after the bell today, stuart. next week will be huge, right? we're waiting for the surface, the new tablet from microsoft, but the question is whether or not this will be great for microsoft or a disaster and i'll tell you why. because the surface tablet doesn't come with a full version of windows 8. the new windows 8. it's not going to be on the new surface, and is apple trying to trump microsoft? apple has the ipad mini on the 23rd and this is coming out the 26th. stuart: i hate it when you use the word disaster, in same sentence as microsoft. >> they said problem-- >> and microsoft is a huge company below, and we'll follow it with you, nicole, thanks. the dow is down 15 in the first minute of business.

and we neglect this market, but today a very big for housing. we'll see how many homes are sold in september. and yesterday we found out increase in new homes. and i hate to give you charts, but here is charts. lennar and pulte, look what the stocks have done in the past year. again, i don't like charts, but when they look like this, we use them. lennar up 94%, pulte, 176% and by the way, still on housing, we've got the latest read on mortgage rates. freddie mac's average and 30 year fixed mortgages, coming up top of the hour, and could be another record new low. i have bad news on the employment picture. look at this, 388,000 people filed jobless claims last week. and former chief of staff for the u.s. department of labor, under president george w. bush.

so, welcome, welcome to the program. good to see you you. >> good to see you, sir. stuart: first of all, last week, we got this oh, so convenient drop in new jobless claims. the president went out and exploited it. the economy's going in the right direction. and a lot of people mistrust the numbers and now, a complete reversal. do you want to tell us what's going on? >> sure, here is what's going on. to, i think most it looks like one of those things local access tv and you see the state lottery guy following the bouncing balls with numbers on it. what happened last week reportedly according to dow jones, a state that had not filed quarterly report. had filed the weekly report and when the quarterly report comes in in many states, including california people had to reapply for benefits. that didn't happen. that report didn't come in, it was artificially depressed by about 30,000 claimants and most expect it had to be around 369,000 claims. what happened last week was not an accurate picture. the problem for the department was this, they did not explain that thoroughly in their press

release. stuart: right. >> and that's what kicks up a lot of distrust. stuart: so, this week's number shall the one that came out today. 388,000, that seems to me like a very high number. i've characterized this as painting a miserable picture of the employment situation. how about you? >> well, here is the thing, if you're at a range around 330,000 numbers it means that you have pretty good economy going on, some growth ogg on and that type of thing. the closer to 400,000 is recession territory, so with 388,000, part of this problem with this number you set it in motion last week. for confidence in the markets, what's important here is leadership. and what the department of labor should be doing with the governors, especially this close to the election is telling people in the state, look, we rely on you for accurate data. we understand there can be abberations, but for the american public and investors and for wall street, you need to have absolute attention on this and absolute accuracy, and within the department when they're reporting numbers they

need to add the caveats for those like yourselves reporting so people can have the accurate information. stuart: 388,000 seems like a big number for me. pan a way to zero in on the employment situation for college graduates. governor romney repeated the statistic frequently, half new college graduates can't get a job, is it accurate? >> it is accurate. that's rooted in a rutgers university study that came out about six months ago where rutgers actually did a very thorough report as they're known for. what they found is that 50% of college graduates right now. 18 to 29 young americans are either unemployed or under employed. that's stunning when you think of the intellectual capital sit on the sidelines and the president doesn't want to talk about that. stuart: you know what, paul we've got numbers showing that the average student debt for the class of 2011 admittedly a year old, average student debt is $26,000 and two-thirds of all

2011 graduates, they have student debt. two third of it. that's a miserable-- again, i hate to keep repeating the word, but that's a miserable picture. >> it's horrible. we did a recent survey of young americans, 18 to 29 and 84% of them indicated that the economy had impacted their key decisions that they make. and one of those decisions is repaying the loan. 64% indicated that upon graduation it was more important to them, a full-time job, a meaningful job as opposed to a lower student interest rate so the president wants to talk about lowering the student interest rate, but the key issue here is this: you can't repay a loan unless you have a full-time job. stuart: it all comes back down. you've got to have growth in the economy. you've got to speed up the-- you've got to have growth. i've got one last one for you, on the friday before the election, on that friday we get the next big picture. the jobless picture report and the jobless rate a surprise move down to 7.8 last time and that big jump. 870,000 people suddenly

miraculously found work. what do you think we're going to see on that friday? >> i think you may actually see it go down further and here is the key thing. everybody's watching this number. and the issue here is leadership by the secretary, and making certain that that is clear because you have hard working civil servants in that department that don't want be maligned and cast with suspicious, but the secretary owes it to the american public. >> i agree with you, paul. hold on a second, if the rate goes down, it will presumably be because people are dropping out of the work force, is that rate? >> that's exactly right. that's exactly right. stuart: you know your stuff and we appreciate you sharing it. fresh off his appearance on "varney & company," n.r.a. executive is it wayne lapierre in critical swing states will president obama take away your right to own a gun? the ad says yes, he will.

that will be part of our new at 10 coverage. a shocking new number for you, 1 trillion dollars. that's what the government spent on welfare last year. those are means tested programs like food stamps not programs you pay into like social security or medicare. the daily caller combing through government reports to find that number. welfare programs are now the single biggest government expenditure. the federal government share of spending on welfare is up 32%. in other words, there's a gain in that welfare spending of one third compared to 2008. now, that's a shocking number. and let's get back to nicole, i don't think she's got any shocking numbers for you, but we've got ebay and i think it's a winner. >> all right, yes, it is indeed. we take a look at the numbers and they came out with their quarterly report yesterday after the bell, stuart. it has an up arrow this morning, the piper jaffray annlysts saying that the number is proof that ebay's marketplace is back on track. pay pal, that unit in particular did very well, and raising revenue there, just 23% and

those the fifth straight profit rise in as many quarters. so, good news there for ebay. >> when they bought pay pal, that was a very smart move, was it not? >> no doubt. stuart: give me another. you've got super value? >> super value, super value came out with their quarterly reports, they had some write-downs, but now, they say that their in asset talks for strategic options. you know what that means, right. stuart: yes, i do. >> first of all, you know right away the stock is jumping, because what happens, are they going to be acquired, what are the options they're seeking? we're seeing the stock up about 7%. stuart: all of these, that's a supermarket chain. >> and i checkkroger, kroger wa flat. >> and all of these supermarkets get really pressed by the wal-marts and the targets and we're really in a corner there. nicole? time is money, so, here is 30 seconds is what else we're

watching. and a new take on an old classic, remember the line greed is good, from wall street, from wall street, you you remember that movie? but greed and wealth are demonized in this presidential campaign. john stossel will join us. and dan calls him the un-president and he doesn't take responsibility for anything. and we'll talk to dan about that. and a history of voting for their own ruin, will they raise their own taxes to give money to jerry brown? that's a good question we'll answer in the next hour. remember, we want to hear from you on everything we talk about. varney@foxbusiness.com is how you reach us. i've got the seven early movers and they're affecting individual stocks. better than expected profits at furniture maker ethan allen. up 14%. a gain. and gold resource cut production outlook for the year. it's down.

regional bank keycorp reports more money coming in, the market likes it, up. and morgan stanley lost more money last quarter. lost money last quarter, but more money came in not sure how that works, but it's down. iphone 5, higher prices giving verizon a profit boost and in the insurance company travelers, record profit there, that's nice up 2 bucks. chip maker mel monices, outlook disappointing, down it goes 19%, there you have them. the latest polls shows mitt romney gaining ground among women pulling even with president obama. and the left is attacking him over comments he made during the debates. and coming up next, a mother of six will react to this. >> the women in the work force and sometimes need to be more flexible. [ male announcer ] at scottrade,

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>> boy, you know, we thought we would open flat. we slightly lower at 16. we're at 13-5 don't forget that. the price of owl 91, and down about 1%. now this, the battle for the women's vote has become a major issue in this campaign so we're told. for that reason the left is jumping all over mitt romney for his comment that he made during tuesday's debate. >> i recognize that if you're going to have women in the work force, that sometimes they need to be more flexible. my chief of staff, for instance, had two kids that were still in school. she said i can't be here until seven or eight o'clock at night i need to be able to get home at five o'clock so i can be there for making dinner for my kids and being with them from school. fine, let's have a flexible

schedule so you can have hours that work for you. stuart: was that statement offensive? was it? really? miriam walllock, columnist, radio host and get this, mother of six joins us by now. >> which is better by the way, which is better me being the mother of six or the-- >> just engage the are you offended. >> i'm offended on behalf of my house that comes home. and parents need both need flex time. as mitt romney would use that as an anecdote is a poor choice. stuart: wait a second, a the lot of women do come home from work and cook dinner from the family, a lot of them do that. why are they offended when a presidential candidate says, you know, we could use more flexible time so you can do that. >> listen, i'm not going to deny that mitt romney is mr. october. he has had a phenomenal, phenomenal month, but out of all opportunities to hit it home with women voters, undecided

women voters who are watching that debate, why in the world would you go there? >> no, look, the left is picking up on this desperate for an issue. desperate for a way to cultivate the women's vote, oh, you wicked sexist look what you're doing you're implying only the women go home and cook at night, they need help. that's ridiculous. >> the bottom line, possibly shows that mitt romney is out of touch-- stuart. stuart: what? >> what. stuart: what do you mean? >> tell me something. stuart: still out of touch with what women want. >> if you listen to both-- after watching the debates i would have rather watch my yankees, that's how upset i was after watching both candidates give answers to a question they knew was coming. i learned nothing that night about what happened in the next four or eight years, i don't know anything more about my future than i did before the debate started. stuart: madam, you're evading the issue and now it. >> mr. romney has not brought up, not addressed equal pay directly if i'm avoiding this, he might be avoid that go.

stuart: let's bring up that schiff-- >> and a west wing restaurant if you're a west wing fan. stuart: no, i'm not. where was i. >> shrivelous. thank you, equal pay for women. we're told repeatedly by the president and his questioner at the second debate that women earn less than men 17%, we're told. okay, that's comparing apples and oranges. if you compare women doing this job with men doing the same job, working the same hours, they earn just about the same, in fact, some women earn even more. >> listen, i think that president obama's comment that he wants to make sure that his daughters get equal pay was a valid comment and we worry with the person with the last time obama is going to get a raw deal when they're older? we're talking about my daughters and everyday families and i think my concerns still exist. stuart: is mitt romney a sexist? >> no, he made a bad choice.

listen, every at-bat is not going to be a home run. a poor chose of n anecdote, a poor choice of a story and bad comment. stuart: are you voting for president obama again? i know it's a secret ballot, but tell me. >> i am not. stuart: you're not? >> no. stuart: you can come back, miriam. a spirited discussion. >> a pleasure. stuart: it's almost 9:50 i better give you the gold report and get me out of this. 1745.60, it's down $7 an ounce. we have two women joining the company for the next hour, look at this, tracy byrnes, remember her? she use today know me and carol roth. do we need to be making a big deal about this? look at this. >> i went to a number of women's groups and told me could you help us find folks, and brought binders full of women.

♪ more than a woman ♪

>> we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. i went to a number of women's groups and said can you help us find folks and they brought us

binders full of women. stuart: that binders of women comment has become a big deal. we all know, surely, that he meant that he had stacks of resume's from qualified women. and joining us now, look at this, tracy burns and carol roth. tracy, are you mortally wounded and offended by, or i forgot the words, binders of women. >> and everyone's forgotten it now. stuart: and the left has not forgotten it. >> then the left needs to get a life. those of us who have a life don't have time to dwell on this nan sense. he respects women and he's married to one and almost had condoleezza rice on his side. >> welcome back, tracy. >> i would be honored to be in mitt romney's binder of women and you know who else, all the women in poverty suffering who don't have jobs right now. stuart: and you both, we have

get a big reading on mortgages breaking at the he top of the coming hour, plus, the n.r.a. comes on "varney & company," to warn against the assault on the second amendment a second obama term and airing an ad in key swing states. we'll play that for you, and college kids half of them can't find a good job when they graduate and they're graduating under a mountain of student debt. why would they vote for four more years for president obama? .

- ♪ livin' in this crazy world ♪ ♪ so caught up in the confusion ♪ ♪ nothin' is makin' sense ♪ for me and you ♪ we've got to give a little love ♪ ♪ have a little hope ♪ make this world a little... ♪

stuart: you heard him here yesterday on "varney and company". wayne pierre saying the second amendment would come under attack if president obama is reelected and today the nra a is out with a new ad in four swing states that says just that. we will play the ad in a couple minutes. first we are literally seconds away from getting the latest read on the housing market, the freddie mac number and 30 year fixed-rate mortgages. very close to all-time low. 3-.37%, down a fraction from last week, right at a historic low. do you believe that? 3.37%. that is what you will pay on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage according to freddie mac. where are we?

what is next? where are we? jobless claims. show me the script. i'm just looking at picture of me. is the script up yet? i can read it. the big stories of the day. latest reading on jobless claims. i look good. 388,000 lousy number, it is that big. i am blushing underneath the makeup. it is up from last week's disputed number which was revised up by 3,000. get me out of this. tracy: the four week average is up. 362,000 is close to the 400,000 mark which puts us back into recession. no one wants to see that especially democrats coming up on an election but it comes back to the notion we can't change the numbers and the american people do not want to deal with that anymore and extended benefits also up 28,000.

stuart: the president jumped on the rose the number and said we are heading in the right direction. maybe he will change his tune. tracy: like standing on the scale and putting your hand on the wall. it makes you happy but not the truth. stuart: the fiscal cliff living january 1st. president obama will veto any compromise bill to avoid that cliff and it doesn't include a tax increase on the highest earners. >> if president obama holds the middle class hostage and takes us over the fiscal clipped it will be the biggest disaster not only of his presidency but that we have seen in decades. connell: dave: they think he would do? >> look what happened with the debt ceiling and all the things that led up to creating this fiscal cliff. we have a lot of bad track records here. i certainly hope it doesn't come to that but i don't have a lot of confidence that it won't. stuart: he could be staking out and turf.

there are senators and business leaders trying to come together. let's avoid the fiscal cliff at all costs. president obama says you can have a deal but you will tax the rich no matter what. tracy: is an idle threat. if congress changes hands come january 1st they make everything interactive. stuart: that is true but in absence of the election results which we don't know yet that is what the president is demanding. you tax the rich or else. tracy: the middle class should be offended by that. they should be. stuart: we are all taking offense at something. a shocking number from the daily column. the federal government spent $1 trillion on welfare programs last year. tracy: lowering standards. everyone qualifies for a welfare check practically. the highest number of people on welfare since president obama took office well over 50% and we are taxing our unborn to pay for

it. connell: stuart: when we say welfare we mean means tested programs. 83 like food stamps but obviously not including social security, medicare, which you pay into. that is not welfare. tracy: we are taxing our unborn children to pay for this. we are not putting in solutions to help people get off of it. not just how many people are on it but what we doing to get the law of it. stuart: that number of just over a trillion dollars is up by 1-third since president obama came into the white house. tracy: more people in poverty than ever before. stuart: i see american express down sharply. tell me why. nicole: a couple famous fact it in here. for the quarter they did well. revenue on the rise. they're seeing spending higher in the u.s. and globally but as far as corporate companies and what they spend, the big wigs in the big companies, travel,

entertainment, fun. they cut back on that and that had american express down 2.5% and that is worth 10 negative dow points. and by the way i see a reflection here all the time and you look great. stuart: i was embarrassed momentarily. nicole: you look great. stuart: looking for the bullet point that will guide me for the next 30 seconds and i'm looking into a mirror. nicole: you don't need them. stuart: when you are back in the will. next subject, guns becoming a hot issue in this campaign. the topic came up at the debate and yesterday we had an are 8 chief wayne pierre on this show. i have never seen him this fired up. he is worried about what will happen if president obama gets reelected. >> if he gets a second term is katie bar the door.

they're trying to get past this election and fog the issue and i guarantee you, i have seen their playbook. they're going to go after one or two more supreme court justices and the second amendment as an individual right is gone. stuart: the nra is out with a new ad targeting gun owners in four key swing states, ohio, virginia, florida, wisconsin. >> mountains of debt, threats to our sovereignty, chipping away at your rights, chipping away at your freedom, now they are attacking our second amendment rights. but you can stop them right now. defend freedom. defeat obama. stuart: i don't know how you feel about guns and the second amendment but welcome back. tracy: at won't tel you how i feel about them but like the binder, and, we heard this the last four years president obama

coming down on gun purchases and we haven't seen anything. out of this administration i don't know. gun lovers might not have a lot to worry about. stuart: very interesting. are you pouring cold water over wayne pierre? tracy: wayne is supporting his constituents if i may, but after that there are bigger issues. >> i disagree. there has been a lot of talk and no action but if he gets reelected and knows he does not have to run again he will have free rein to do all the things he wanted to do the first time that he didn't and i think the second amendment is going to be under a pact. but carol has a point. >> he has a plate of stuff. he will need congressional approval. he is climbing mount everest. stuart: do you favor strict gun control in whatever form it takes? tracy: people have a right to bear arms. we should maintain that right. -- >> guns don't kill people.

people kill people -- stuart: i am not. i am saying welcome back. haven't seen you in six months. you learned a great deal of diplomacy. tuesday's presidential debate began with this question from first-time voter jeremy. >> as a 20-year-old college student i hear from professors and neighbors that when i graduate i will not get employment. what can you say to reassure me but more importantly my parents that i will be able to support myself after i graduate? stuart: his worries are justified and here is why. according to northeastern university, 53% of college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. a new report out today shows the class of 2011, the most recent college graduates face an average of $26,000 in student loan debt. numbers like this, why should any student or recent graduates vote for president obama's

reelection? joining us is the executive director for young democrats of america. i will give you 30 seconds. give me 30 seconds online news graduates should vote for president obama. >> thank you for having me on. how could they not vote for president obama? representing young people, a young person, with the economy looks like for them. if we are looking for reasons to vote for president obama clearly his answers work. jeremy has come out and said he is no longer undecided and convinced by president obama who has worked very hard -- stuart: when you have not given me a reason why. >> take the middleman out of student lending and increased pell grants for ten million students, romney's plan would actually decrease pell grants for ten million students. president obama worked hard to keep stafford student loan [talking over each other] [talking over each other]

stuart: 53% of recent college graduates are underemployed or unemployed and that is the direct result of president obama's economy. don't you think they want jobs? if they're going to reap the their student loans don't want to get out and work and get jobs? why should they vote for president obama? >> we are in a society -- [talking over each other] stuart: where are they? >> the jobs are on the incline. when the president talks about the economy when he took over the is not making excuses. he is giving you a context. and economy from the middle class out and built to last. talk about college students, the jobs are coming back. [talking over each other] tracy: if this is what four years of college paid for, my kid that going to trade school. you are coming out thinking you are entitled to something. you are not entitled to anything

and you are hoping the president comes back so he forgives it all. that is where the vote is coming from. not because you think he will create jobs. [talking over each other] >> community college and trade schools. >> president obama said his solution to creating jobs was to bring manufacturing jobs back to the u.s.. when you have college graduates they are going to work in a manufacturing plant under president obama, that is his solution. is that what people are going to college for? >> we're talking about we do different things. when young people come out of college with massive amounts of debt they want good paying jobs to payback the debt and it wasn't huge to begin with. president obama said he will work with universities to make sure we are looking at long-term college rates and manufacturing jobs. that would be -- college is not the option for every one. we need community college and trade schools. stuart: we want out of the white house. will we want is an expanding

growing economy. you have not told me how president obama will expand this economy because in four years he has not. >> you talk about how president obama -- he made the case that the debate and we continue -- [talking over each other] stuart: i will give you an uninterrupted 20 seconds and you tell me exactly how all this president is going to really create millions of new jobs in a second term. >> we were talking about an economy built from the middle class out, not an economy that is top down. governor romney is only talking about from the top down. that is an economy that got us into this problem in the first place. we talk about manufacturing jobs. when governor romney was the governor of massachusetts massachusetts lost --

[talking over each other] stuart: you have gone after mitt romney. you have not told me a single detail how president obama could increase jobs in a second term. you have not told me. all i give you another 20 seconds? >> governor romney told this was in the government's job to be creating jobs. stuart: we appreciate you being with us. you are with young democrats of america and thank you for being with us. check the latest gallup poll on the presidential race. this came out yesterday afternoon. it shows mitt romney's largest be yet, it was a bombshell when it came out. 51-45. that is among likely voters. we are yet to see any polling that reflects how voters feel after this week's debate but the numbers have swung significantly in romney's favor since the first debate. all along i asked if we could measure how passionate people feel about each candidate? they answered yes we can measure

it. later this hour a man who does measure emotional attachment to the candidates will tell us what he found. i do have the latest swing state poll from rasmussen. here it is. governor romney 49, obama 48. this is a reversal from yesterday which had obama three points in the lead. this is a daily poll of likely voters in 11 key swing states and overnight it has swung to romney. president obama repeating his call for higher taxes on rich and threatening to push us over the fiscal cliff unless he gets it. john stossel is next and he says greed may be good. remember this? >> the point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. greed is right. greed works.

you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names lonr. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, ound the country, around the corner. us bank.

stuart: i call this the big number of the morning. that number would be 388,000. that is how many jobless claims came in last week. they jumped. the labor department says one big state, probably california throwing off the numbers last week. two weeks in a row we got confusing numbers. last week a big drop and this

week a big jump. make of it what you will. a big number. of flat market. dow industrials down 14 and on top of the hour the philadelphia fed survey, business conditions apparently improving a little and the freddie mac mortgage rate is more important number falling to another record low, 3.37%. unbelievable. that is a 30 year mortgage. look at strappedon. is a big. tools and machinery. we are back in 90 seconds with john greed is good stossel.

stuart: a suspected terrorist being held without bail. he did not enter a plea in new york federal court. fbi agents arrested 21-year-old in a suspected plot to blow up the federal reserve bank in lower manhattan. they say he tried to set off what he thought was the 1,000 pound bomb in front of the fed. the undercover fbi agents were tracking is a city, supplied him with a materials. he was arrested. president obama repeating his call for a tax on top income earnings threatening a veto that would send us over the fiscal cliff if he doesn't get it. these are the so-called greedy fat cats and according to john stossel greed may actually be good. >> there is no end to their greed. >> taking your money. >> the ways of wall street. >> that is why we need government intervention says the

left. without a -- >> take the whole take. nothing stopping me. >> take the cake. make new ones. my guests say greed works. >> agree is a good thing. agree is never bad. >> agree is right. greed works. >> is agreed good? stuart: that is a direct except for john stossel who is the host of stossel. i am having trouble this morning. you say greed is good. john: it can be grows and unseemly but this elite child talking about president obama made life better because he had the government take over the student loan business and take out the middleman but greedy banks were lending money to students they might say no to the kid doing a leisure studies course and yes to the engineer, the person going to nursing school and they get their own money at stake and they are greedy and wants to make it

back, they would scare the kids better and we wouldn't be so much in debt. stuart: greed is good. is a good motivator that motivates towards the efficiency. john: if you don't have crony capitalism and give people favors and don't cheat then competition keeps you from hurting others. if you get too greedy somebody else cleans -- offers the product for less. stuart: is there such a thing is too 3d? going after too much money? is enough every enough? is there an enough about your personal income? john: if you don't cheat morally, know. there is no reason. you can go as far as you want. it is grows that this guy has a big yacht over there and not giving to charity that that is his choice and if he was an act will free market to earn the money he did write. stuart: anybody want to chiming? tracy: the ethical issue, greed

is good in moderation. the pigs get bad and hogs get slaughtered. we don't want bernie madoffs of the world. john: he cheated. tracy: the ethics is a line that you have to have self-interest to motivate you. that makes the economy run. stuart: why does the left he agreed? >> the disparity of wealth. they don't have the money. it is unseemly -- stuart: greed is the nature of your program tonight. john: it is what helps the 4 most. stuart: your premise his 3 is the. a good thing. tracy: it is drive, not greed. john: and leaned self-interest. tracy: maybe they would like it better. stuart: i'm told to rack. you people are being greedy with my time. you are up. all right.

i bring good news. it is rare, but it is from the housing sector. let's not get carried away but i have good news. that is next. so anyway, i've been to a lot of places.

you know, i've helped a lot of people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing)

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>> here's what is going on. looks like one of those things on local access tv where you see

the state lottery guys falling the bouncing ball with numbers on it but what happened last week is according to dow jones, you have a state that had not filed a quarterly report. stuart: that is the weekly jobless claims number. you want to get all of it tune in regularly in at 9:20 eastern. let's check the markets. take a look at where we are. pretty flat, down 23 points. travelers with a big gain. where is the stock? nicole: record profits for travelers, fewer natural disasters which led to fewer losses for travelers and they had the ability to raise prices so we see travelers on 20 dow points adding new all-time high and taking the group with it, all state, ace, all hitting 52 week highs. stuart: thanks very much. president obama continues to blame president bush for today's struggling economy.

remember this? >> when i walked in the oval office i had more than a trillion dollar deficit greeting me. we know where it came from. two wars that were paid for on a credit card, two tax cuts that were not paid for, and a whole bunch of programs that were not paid for and a massive economic crisis. stuart: wall street journal's dan henning beer says the president can't take responsibility for his record. the won't do and obama's biggest problem is voters are starting to notice. dan henninger joins us. stuart: i'd bring you good news. here is my take on the value of your home. i say good news but let's not get carried away. i am not suggesting for one moment we will be back to bubble prices anytime soon. you heard on this program it could take ten years to get back to the values we saw in 2006.

calm down and look at it rationally. the improving state of the housing market and improving it is. i am going to say we hit bottom last winter across the nation, prices of dropped by a third and we are gradually, very gradually moving up. double digit price gains in parts of arizona and nevada and florida, far less elsewhere but prices are up from the bottom. fewer people underwater so more can sell or refinance. more home sales. good news for realtors and more fixing up helps retailers. the economy overall will get a small boost from this. this is an opportunity for investors. when you hit bottom and prices start moving hire there is some profit on the horizon. i am using this time to say i was right. my timing was a little shaky but my point is valid and that is a single-family home in a good neighborhood is the best value for your money right now.

i think a home is again the biggest and best investment you are likely to make. follow the wings.

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into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. whatever your business challenge, when we got married. i had three ki. and she became the full time mother of three. it was soccer, and ballet, and cheerleading, and baseball. those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule. stuart: is it a sign of the times? newsweek will publish its final print edition at the end of this year. the decision comes after 80 years of print publication little shift on all digital

format. the last condition of newsweek december 31st. let's check price of gas because it is down. the national average for a gallon of gas at $3.73 and diesel holding a $4.13 and gas is down $0.07 over the past week. it dropped $0.07 and a week. i want to bring in larry levin not talk about gas. i want to ask, the latest in government numbers, jobless claims, back again, 388,000. does this restore your faith and the voracity of government authority? >> it does the opposite. it is a surprise it can clean today though it had no choice, a lot of pressure on the internal divisions to come up with these numbers. more conspiracy theories that i have heard in a long time around here and a little bit of noise, the government cannot even

count. stuart: normal you come from a pristine background and we hear what you say. this time you have people yelling in the background. what are they yelling about? >> i spent my entire adult life here and there trading on the jobless claims number and gasoline information and a lot of stuff that follows the s&p 500. stuart: when you spend your life in a hit like that? >> i certainly did. that is how i came up this way. stuart: thank you very much indeed. the dow down four. they are still yelling about s&p futures. dan henninger her's latest column calls president obama the non president. takes responsibility for the good but not the bad or the ugly. remember this? >> one of walked in the oval office i had more than a trillion dollar deficit greeting me and we know where it came from. two wars that were paid for on a credit card, two tax cuts that were not paid for and a whole

bunch of programs that were not paid for and take massive economic crisis. stuart: joining us is dan henning your, columnist at the wall street journal. he doesn't take responsibly for the debt or the job situation of the price of gas but does he have a point? isn't there some blame that can be attached to the great recession? >> i guess there is. there was a lot of spending under bush, but we are going to expand the-explain the mount vesuvius mortgage meltdown on george bush? that was not george bush's fault. he tends to suggest that was the real economic crisis of 2008 and that was building a long time. stuart: your column is not about where blame should live. your column is about the fact that this president doesn't take responsibility for anything. >> anyone paying attention to the campaign is aware of the fact that barack obama routinely

in his speeches blames his economy four years long on george bush. it is not my responsibility, not my fault. everyone has heard that. what jumped out at me was in the debate the other night, when they were talking about benghazi and libya and candy crowley looked at barack obama and said mr. president, is it true to say the buck stops with your secretary of state on this issue and what she was talking about was the fact the white house from day one of the incident put distance between the white house and the security breach. it wasn't our fault. joe biden in the vice-presidential debate said the intelligence service. i looked at that and said this is the president who as president simply will not bear any responsibility for the downturns that occur on his watch. all the wants is to take credit for great things like the bin laden assassination.

i think it diminishes is incumbency. stuart: does it work with the electorate? if you repeat something over and over again, it is not my fault, not my responsibility does it work? >> i don't think it works at all. in life people who say, explain away anything that they are involved in are not very attractive. it is not an attribute or virtue in private life and certainly not -- tracy: somebody is buying it. >> the polls are close because of the first debate because they were far apart. mitt romney was dead in the water and losing and he is now close the gap nationally -- [talking over each other] tracy: a good chunk of -- [talking over each other] >> he is the incumbent and he should be more competitive than he was and romney simply didn't lose much in the second debate. stuart: monday night is an opportunity for mitt romney to pin responsibility for benghazi and libya firmly on the

administration. >> i'm worried about monday night's foreign policy debate. i didn't think romney handle the libya benghazi issue very well at all. he should have nailed it, nail the president with responsibility but he got disorganize in his answer. i am not sure here's enough distinction in fact between mitt romney's foreign policy and the president for mitt romney to sustain a 90 minute critique of barack obama on foreign policy and i think the best answer he gave was on obama's record. he should use that as a template on libya and syria and russia to at least criticize the president's with some delight because foreign policy is by definition a president's strongest suit. stuart: when the president was asked about the benghazi

situation, what about the murder of our ambassador? the president fifth completely responded in a totally different but in madrid >> not only did that but by the end of it he was literally blaming romney for even bringing it up which is the only saying -- what we have been talking about the two weeks. tracy: this man got elected when the president didn't have a strong policy background to begin with. here we are in the same place. no one knows what they're doing in foreign-policy. how do you debate that? >> he wants to be reelected for participation. what romney needs to saves you need to have responsibility and accountability for your track record. saying that over and over again. >> accountability is a good word and tracy is right. we do not understand clearly what his foreign policy is. stuart: great column. thank you very much. we have been asking all of our

pollsters can you measure e motion for a candidate? the intensity of the motion for a candidate? our next guest says you can do it. he has done it and has the results. which group is more passionate about their candidate? romney supporters or obama supporters? we have an answer.

stuart: look at the drop in the price of oil this morning.

right now we are down $1, $91 a barrel. could mean the sharp drop we have seen in gas prices may continue a little bit. gas did fall $0.02 overnight. we are down to $3.73. gas is down $0.07. important number out this morning, 388,000, those of the jobless claims, jump from the week before but none of these are confused with problems with one big state which is a big and depressing number. dow industrials dead flat, down 7. ibm dragging the dow down. it fell $10 a share yesterday and now below $200 and look at apple also falling again. by now is $6.37, weighed down from the a runtime high. we're back in 90 seconds with a look at the emotional connection voters have with their candidates. get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together

where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national.

because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. stuart: ebay. people are still buying stuff on online auctions. it is again. nicole: they sure are buying stuff that goes online auctions and paypal was an area that did very well. you see stock up 4% roughly, the fifth straight profit rise in as many quarters. you see it at $50.17 a share, ebay's price target raised to $54 and outperformed. so far so good. stuart: is that paypal unit?

i saw something be adair how in the future something like a third of all purchases will be done on a cellphone using paypal or something like paypal. >> something you can put on the phone. stuart: do you do that? tracy: i shop. stuart: pay cash or credit card? tracy: i clicked away. stuart: very good. tracy: the right answer was yes. stuart: none of this personal stuff. marketing research firm motivea conducted a survey of the emotional connection with the voters. you will be surprised at the results. president obama lost 11% of emotional support among democratic voters. mitt romney gained 6% at the debate. the founder of motivea n san francisco explains these

results. this emotional attachment, if i am emotionally attached to a candidate does that mean i am far more likely to vote for them, get out of bed and get the polling station and vote? >> exactly. that is what it is about. emotional connection is what can predict turnout and commitment to the voters. it is not just as is a candidate cool or have a beer with them where obama has the vantage but am i going to leave for work early, breakout, get on a bus to vote, emotion is going to drive me to the voting booth. stuart: one thing we have been discovering or discussing is in a regular poll you don't know whether the person you told really is going to get out of bed and vote. absolutely definitely vote. you seem to have a way f measuring that and the results you come up with seem to suggest that the commitment to romney is greater than the commitment to

obama. >> the market we serve, fortune 1,000 brands demotion is a differencemaker. demotion is what causes consumers to be fanatically loyal, to pay more, to advocate and the on social media on behalf of their brand. those are real behavior is. when we sat there in our headquarters and saw a poll after poll, to one-49, 53-47 and realize 95% were emotionally connected voters, definitely going to vote for the candidate on election day that drops 24 points to 71% to 5 receive the candidates to be qualified and competent, not quite emotionally connected, less likely to turn out that day and if i am not even sure which candidate i might vote for and still indecisive the number turns to 12%. when you look at 51-49 doesn't tell you much. stuart: that is fascinating. thank you very much for appearing on the show. i am sorry i asked to cut this short but that is very interesting information.

something we have been trying to find for a long time. are you really going to vote for the person you say you're going to favor a you have a way of measuring it. thanks for joining us. you are with motivea. thank you for joining us. california governor jerry brown wants to raise taxes to fix the state's exploding deficit. according to the latest poll the governor's plan is losing support. has california finally come to its senses? here with us next.

stuart:----governor jerry brown wants to raise taxes to fix the state's exploding deficit. however a fresh poll shows support for the tax plan is below 50%. are californians really going to vote against higher taxes? california against higher taxes are you kidding me? travis brown is president of let the voters decide. i am joking around here but partially serious. i can to imagine california voting against a tax increase. really? >> it might be an insane notion that shouldn't be a surprise there are two groups out there that support governor brown's proposal to raise taxes but they

are losing in california. there are californians who have moved to las vegas or live in phoenix. stuart: they don't vote in california. >> that is true but it is important people understand how much wealth as migrated out of california priorities tax hikes. $31 billion left the state in 15 years. stuart: income earning power. >> adjusted gross income, wealth that is working and could stay in california but is leaving california to lower tax environments. stuart: use think they finally got the message, higher taxes drive people out, it won't work, they vote against higher taxes? are predicting that? >> a california voter wants to increase funding for schools by raising income taxes all your doing is increasing funding in those schools in arizona. stuart: are you telling me californians have seen the light? and will vote against the tax

increase? >> california is a proud about initiative state. we have seen that, 12 years of proposition 13 and many taxpayer organizations are thinking that is why you are seeing poll numbers decrease and the kline and narrow in the final weeks. stuart: i am pressing. i one day forecast. on election day do they vote against these tax increases? >> i think they do because they have the economy we are faced with right now. over 11% unemployment and numbers stock. stuart: carol is from chicago. you got numbers on how many people fled chicago because of higher taxes. >> if this what america's biggest loser chicago its in the top three. number one in new york. number 2 is l a and number 3 its chicago. what is interesting is the wealth that leads all three metropolitan areas into low tax

environments, palm beach, fla. las vegas, nev. arizona, texas does very well so the numbers, big on performance, past performance, past performance in 15 years, movement of $2 trillion within and across state lines shows people do really vote with their feet. stuart: fascinating. you are welcome back any time you like. the idea that california should reject a tax increase to me is a shock. i am going to plug you for a repeat. you think they will vote against the tax increase? >> they voted down a cigarette tax increase a few months ago. stuart: that is a surprise when you think about it. californians vote against the tax increase on cigarettes. travis brown, your welcome back. tracy: the tax -- i can't figure that out to save my life. stuart: legalization marijuana. [talking over each other]

stuart: come back soon. the highlight reel is next.

stuart: here is the highlight reel. >> the second amendment will be under attack. stuart: what will happen if president obama gets reelected? >> the second amendment is gone. stuart: are you pouring cold water? >> if he gets reelected and knows he will not have to run again, he will have to rearrange and do other things he wanted to do the first time around. stuart: i am looking at you, tracy byrnes. tracy: i think he is all talk. dan and injure said it perfectly. i think a lot of people get it by now. too close to call on anything.

>> if he is reelected again, we are in for a lot of challenges. stuart: with the second amendment? >> absolutely. stuart: thank you so much for being with us. that is it for us. dagen and connell are here to take it away. connell: thank you, stuart. dagen: i am dagen mcdowell. connell: i am connell mcshane. the president loved the drop, what will he say about the spike. dagen: mitt romney. what he has to do right now to stay ahead. connell: we have an arraignment for the terrorist suspect. we also have information on the target he really wanted to go after. dagen: top of the hour. stocks